January 28, 1991|By Roger Twigg Ginger Thompson of The Sun's metropolitan staff contributed to this article.

A 6-year-old girl watched her mother get stabbed to death and survived multiple wounds herself before dialing 911 to report the attack before dawn yesterday, city police said.

Hours later, a man investigators described as "an acquaintance" of the victims turned himself in at the Northern District police station and was charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder. Police spokesman Dennis S. Hill said the stabbings were the outcome of a drug deal gone bad.

Ella Wilson, 47, was killed in the kitchen of her row house home in the 2800 block of Edgecombe Circle South in Northwest Baltimore. Mr. Hill said the woman had a record of drug distribution convictions.

The attacker then turned on Ms. Wilson's 6-year-old daughter, whom police refused to identify. Although seriously wounded, the girl managed to call 911 for help after the attacker fled.

"Come quick, there's been a stabbing," the girl told a 911 operator at 4:45 a.m., and gave the address of the Edgecombe Circle South row house.

Detectives also would not name the hospital where the girl was taken, citing fears for her safety. They said she was in serious but stable condition and under police guard.

The suspect accused of the stabbings was Kevin Walker, 35, of the 4500 block of Finney Avenue. He was being held without bail last night.

Uniformed officers from the Northern District who responded to the call found the 6-year-old girl bleeding from multiple stab wounds. Her mother was pronounced dead at the scene.

A bloody butcher knife with a 9- to 11-inch blade was found in the home, and officers found residue of suspected cocaine in the kitchen, the police said.

Mr. Hill said he could not provide any specifics last night about the suspected drug deal and what might have caused it to sour.

Roger Boney, a 75-year-old neighbor, said he had heard rumors that drugs were being distributed from the victim's house.

He said he had seen the woman's daughter in the neighborhood several times.

"This is a very good neighborhood around here," Mr. Boney said. "The houses are small, so you don't get a lot of children."